Confessions Of A Member Of The “Far-Right Fringe”

I believe in God, and I’m a Christian. I believe in the Second Amendment as the Founders meant it, and that as a law-abiding citizen I’m a member of the “militia” as defined under the US Code Title 10. I love guns; I own guns, including “assault weapons”; I shoot my guns regularly. I’m a veteran. I’m against granting amnesty, under whatever name, to illegal aliens. I think abortion is wrong, and is not solely just “a woman’s right to choose”. I consider myself a member of the Tea Party.

STRAC in ’69

Guilty as charged. Mea culpa.

And because of my views and beliefs, I’ve been castigated and excoriated by Democrats and their fellow socialists in this country for decades. It’s reached the point where if I state my views and I don’t hear insults in return, I have to wonder if I’m actually speaking clearly, or have made some other mistake in communication. Did I garble my sentences? Speak in tongues? Have a “cerebral incident”? What?

My political opponents on the Left have called me a “radical”, a reactionary, a fanatic, a zealot, an “extremist”… and that’s when they’re in a good mood and feeling polite. Early in his first term Commissar Obama’s Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano branded small-government gun-owning veterans who are pro-life (that would be me) “potential terrorists”.

All well and good. The sun is in the sky and things are right with the world.

But wait! What’s that I hear?

Why… the same criticisms coming at me from my other flank! Power players in the Republican Party seem to have gulped the Democrat Kool-Aid and decided that we people who believe in these principles actually are part of the political “fringe”! Hold on a sec… aren’t these the exact same principles the GOP claims to represent?

Well, according to Karl Rove, among others in the Establishment GOP, apparently not. It seems that actual principles are okay, as long as they don’t interfere with just winning elections, and those who actually believe that elections are about advancing actual principles really are members of the extremist “fringe”, an inconvenient group that must be ignored if not outright shunned.We saw it in practice after the 2010 election, when new House Speaker John Boehner completely marginalized the Tea Party-backed conservatives who were newly elected to their seats in the House, giving the GOP the majority status there. “Thank you, now go sit in the corner and shut up” was the message then.

Rove and his cohorts have formalized that message with the formation of a couple of PACs (Link) whose goal will be to influence elections, starting with the primary process, with the aim of having “the most electable” candidates win. The problem is, of course, what their definition of “electable” means.

Crist’s Commissar clinch

Rove and the others are the same people who backed Bush’s two attempts at amnesty for illegal aliens; who backed Bush’s TARP and “bailout”, as well as his expansion of Medicare; who are now talking about “sensible, common sense” gun control; who supported Charlie Crist (who later defected to the Democrats) over Marco Rubio; who backed Arlen Specter (who also later defected to the Dems) over Toomey; and who constantly and reliably disparage the Tea Party and other traditionally conservative factions of the electorate.

In other words, these are the self-anointed geniuses who regularly spit in the eyes of what would reasonably be considered their “base” – the very voters they actually need in order to win – and then turn around and scratch their heads and wonder why they end up losing elections, especially at the national level.

One of Rove’s group’s goals is to “… protect Senate incumbents from challenges by far-right conservatives and Tea Party enthusiasts who Republican leaders worry could complicate the party’s efforts to win control of the Senate.” In other words, party uber alles, principles be damned.

But what does that really mean? Abandoning core principles the GOP has traditionally claimed to represent, in the hopes of stealing some of the Democrats’ reliable base? Then what’s the point, if all they want to be is a modified form of Democrat, the Dem-Lite Party? Why would anyone vote for them at all? And why are they intent – whether by design or not – on redefining the political spectrum leftward? And how did the Tea Party – whose main issues are fiscal prudence and limited power in government – become defined as “far right”? Isn’t that a fundamental principle, and “centrist” by definition?

Rove, Boehner, and the rest of the Establishment GOP hacks are exactly the reason why in 2008, when the GOP nominated that idiot McCain, I quit my GOP registration of almost 40 years and re-registered as an Independent. I’d had a bellyful of that party of clowns who didn’t care one bit about principles. Their entire raison d’être is simply to “win” elections, though they’ve completely lost any sense of purpose as to WHY that win could actually be important as anything other than a simple power grab.

A complete disconnect from any sense of real purpose or underlying ideology or philosophy, coupled with an uncanny ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, all wrapped in a cloak of sanctimony and hypocrisy.

Levin was on a roll last night dragging Rove through the coals. He said basically the same things. But one thing he brought up was Rove’s miserable record of getting “his” candidates elected. It seems all Rove is good at is wrecking the chances of a really conservative candidate in favor of his rino who then loses because the conservative voters stay home ala Romney.
I believe our main problem is keeping elected Tea Party members focused and not maybe out of frustration crossing over to the dark side.
Sooner or later we should have enough to really make a difference.

Another confessor!! Woot!
I am so sick of seeking accountability and not getting any. Since 2006 I have not donated to the GOP and Brian, your influence has been great in that. Long live the Crispies!!

PS…if I were of age in 69…I would have tried to get your attention…I love a man and a hat! 🙂

Brian, I started to say that I agreed with your first paragraph, but when I was rereading the piece, I decided that I agreed with the whole thing,

So DITTOs.

Yeah, electable, my ass. Acquiescent is what Rove’s is after. He doesn’t want some off-the-reservation Tea Partier mucking up his plans. There was a time, many years ago, when I thought that he was one of the good guys. How could I have been so wrong? Basically, now I can be assured that I’ll automatically be FOR anyone that he is against, and AGAINST anyone that he is pushing. He is establishment personified and the GOP establishment sucks, especially the Senate incumbents, but Boehner is right up there in his worthlessness rating too.

And Harry Reid’s Senate is possibly the most worthless, do-nothing body in the history of this country.

I think that we need a Constitutional Amendment that would give all voters (regardless of district or state) a vote for/against all members of Congress. Perhaps half of the vote for Rep or Senator would continue to be from their constituency, the other half from the country at large. Meaning that I could (finally) express my displeasure with Feinstein, Reid, Shumer, etc. by voting against them. After all, all of the Reps and Senators affect the entire country by their votes, not just their district or state.

Excellent post,and Viva La Crispies. If this crap from the establishment PSP party continues,and the Limbaughs,Hannitys,et al, continue to say we need to stick with the GOP in order to win elections,THEIR credibility (or what’s left of it) goes down the wet swirly ride as well. These “new media” types don’t get behind TRUE conservatives,whether they’re called Tea Party,or FTR party,or what the hell ever, we’ll leave THEM behind with the likes of Rove, McCain,Priebus,etc. They can have it,and wander in the frigging wilderness for another 40 years for all I care.

Thanks for the kind words. It’s funny about the radio talking heads. They have all the right ideas… yet still stick to the same old failing conclusions, as you point out. Isn’t that a case of Einsteinian insanity, repeating the same actions while expecting a different result?

In case you are wondering where I’ve been, it got harder and harder to access stuff on the internet as my computer reached 100 years old. In case you are wondering, 1 year for a computer equals11 years for a human. So I just upgraded a couple weeks ago, and now I can access Drudge again, and TH w/o frustrating popups, and a view from the island. There are a couple old troops left on TH from when I started, but I miss Skip, Flagwaver, Celtic Dragon, Jimmy Carter and would like to see more of some who still pop up too seldom. Loyal Democrat has maintained his devastating posts, as you doubtless are aware. I wasn’t dead sure BrianR.3 was you, but it seemed likely. By the way, which of us won the banished to Coventry contest? I’ve used 3 other handles, but suddenly I got an e-mail saying I was Pistol again.

Hey, Pistol! I’m glad you accepted my invitation to swing by and comment. It’s really good to see you.

Yeah, a lot of the old crowd is very sorely missed. There aren’t a lot of us still around, though I have to tell you, if you keep checking in here, and hit some of my Blog Roll, you’ll definitely see some of the old-timer originals. Gunny G, Nee, Clyde, Jevica, Hardnox… all are regulars. Flagwaver was aroud for a while, but he ultimately vanished, unfortunately. He and his wife had what sounded like a very unpleasant divorce right after he graduated college, and there were kids involved. I guess his time got eaten up. I don’t know why Jimmy Carter dropped, but I think he and that lady doctor (“Shining City”) hooked up after she got divorced, and that was pretty much it for BOTH of them. I have seen LD’s posts; he’d vanished for a while, too, but now is back. At first I wasn’t sure he was the original LD, but sure enough…!

I can’t remember what the final result of the Coventry contest was; there were so many of us getting kicked off so often. What a hoot!

I see you logged in here under your name. And, of course, that’s great. Or you can use your handle. Whatever; your choice. I hope you drop by at least from time to time. And, of course, we can chat on the threads over there at TH.

I wonder just how many folks are really in the conservative group typified by you and I? However many, or few, we represent the can do group that solves problems when TSHTF. Sooner or later it will. I’ve researched the Weimar inflation to try and get some idea of who did ok in the money collapse. Solvent conservative folks, homeowners with a basic economic skill and work ethic did comparatively well. The heavily leveraged folks, and those living hand to mouth got hit worst. Very worst were those on the gov’t teat, because it just dried up. I don’t see the chance here at 50/50 yet, but its a solid possibility. My ex-SEAL nephew-in-law asked me to find some ammo for his FN FAL. Miraculously, this very day I found some decent stuff for us both. I checked for .22 long rifle and this huge outfit did not have a single round. Last to go, they said, was Eley match at about $12.00/50. I shudder to think what it would cost now to refill my ammo closet. Brevard county Florida where I live would be one of the better spots to ride out a crunch, I think.

I always appreciate your blog, your contributors, and the care you take with it. Its good my new computer gets to you quickly and easily.

Yeah, ammo. I’m not the first to say that Obozo’s the best gun salesman there is. He’s been a windfall for the manufacturers and retailers. Here’s a good link for all things guns and ammo: http://www.gunbroker.com/

Eley has always been pricey, as it’s about the best .22 ammo there is. Even their lowest grade stuff is match grade.

As to how many folks are as conservative as we are? Probably a small percentage, as far as being “active”. But I’d say a fairly large percentage as far as voting with their feet. Those are the people the GOP is alienating, and the ones they actually need in order to win elections. People who don’t pay that much attention to politics on a daily basis, but know what they will and will not vote for come election time. I think the last election illustrated that. Obozo won with a smaller turnout than the 2008 election, and a smaller margin of victory. That tells me that a whole lot of conservative people simply didn’t show up at the polls. And why would they? Romney sure wasn’t someone people could get excited about.

That’s yet another problem with the Establishment GOP: they seem to think that Noertheast liberals calling themselves Republicans or “conservatives” are somehow going to resonate with the rest of the country. Ain’t never gonna happen! They need to pull their heads out of their butts. New England’s idea of “conservative” is a joke! But they don’t seem to get that. Look at how they continue to drool over Christie, a guy who’s got his lips firmly planted on Obozo’s butt. Do they think that fat idiot has a single chance of actually WINNING???????

Nee, here’s now I access my Dashboard at TH: on the main Home Page, near the top look for the “sign in” link. If you’re automatically signed in, it’ll change to your user name. Otherwise, click “sign in”, then sign in. If it signs you in automatically, click on your name.

Karl Rove represents all that is wrong with the GOP. If the Democrats have changed since the 1960’s, so has the GOP. At the best, the GOP is now the Democrat-Lite Party. At the worst, there is really no difference between the two.

Like you Brian, I am no longer registered as a Republican. I am now registered as an Independent. However, I still get annoying telephone calls from the GOP asking for money. Most of the time, I just hangup on them. I really don’t have the time to argue.

As for ammunition, even in Mississippi it is getting increasingly hard to find (and we have a Winchester ammunition factory in Oxford going 24/7). However, private sales of weapons in my state appear to be going thru the roof. And there are also several people who are reloading ammo and selling it thru private sources (mostly .223, 9mm, and .38/.357). But .22 long rifle ammo is becoming increasingly hard to find.

Yeah, I still get those phone calls, too. They may abandon principle, and crap on their base, but one thing they absolutely can be depended on to do with utmost reliability is call us up with their hands out for money.

Oh. MY!! Just read that Illinois may end up defaulting to Constitutional Carry on guns…Wouldn’t that be lovely!! No permit to exercise your second amendment rights…Vermont and Alaska have it, too, I think…

I started in 2007 there and continued through 2010 or so when I got disgusted with their editor and lack of support for their bloggers and migrated to WordPress. I was able to bring some of my old stuff over early on, but since then all of my old blog (also called Pesky Truth) has disappeared. I just figured that since I stopped generating new activity, they just deleted it.

I went there just now (using your directions) and was able to access my account – that’s still there, but none of the old posts. Too bad, I’d hoped to bring a few more satirical bits over. I even searched for Pesky Truth and can’t get to the old blog. Any ideas?

Garnet, I just checked (using every means I could think of) and yeah; your blog seems to be gone.

I can access mine, and in fact keep it current (though I refer any comments to this version here). I don’t know what to tell you. It could well be that they deleted it if it was inactive for some period of time.

OK,folks. The SOTU show is coming. For a preview of what he is going to say,just find a transcript of any one he’s given thus far. Going to be the same old shit. For those of you who may try to watch it,here is a Clyde Helpful Hint. First,get a piece of plain white paper. Cut it in a 3″ wide strip the horizontal length of the bottom of your TV screen. Next,in a bold color,in large,easy-to-read format these words: THIS MOTHERF$@KER LIES. Repeat until sheet is filled. Third,tape to botton of the set,mute the volume,and ENJOY THE SHOW!!! Hope that helps.

I’m happy I didn’t miss the gathering of the orphans. Being a SCDSer didn’t make us too popular at TH, did it? LOL! I proudly claim the title “Crispie”, even though it was meant as a pejorative, coined by Cincinnati Dave if memory serves me correctly.

In my opinion, what Rove just did was merely a formal declaration of a war that has been going on since Goldwater. My prediction is that if he is successful in pushing Rino’s into primaries against TP backed candidates, we will see the GOP become a permanent minority, in both houses.

The Rino delusion that they can win without conservative support still persists, despite two straight losses in presidential elections. I don’t think they even saw the iceberg!

The Pied Piper said,
“As long as I’m commander-in-chief, we will do whatever we must to protect those who serve their country abroad, and we will maintain the best military the world has ever known.”
Yet, we have deaths in Benghazi and zero accountability. 3 months ago my former lab CO said that Hilary was showing up in Hungary for reasons other than State Dept Business- meaning she was there to begin her cover-up duties– and now, we hear from someone that gun running gone awry in Syria is why Stevens was killed. No one is in record telling the truth… and Panetta readily admits The P-2 was nowhere to be found. WTF!!! I am just fuming at the sheer audacity…

Yeah, it was truly amazing. The ONLY reason we even have preschools is because the one-earner family is no longer possible, thanks to socialist policies that have led to inflation and confiscatory taxation. What a frikkin’ nimrod Obozo is.

And BenghaziGate just keeps on escalating, just as I predicted in my essay a few months ago. Yeah, ole Obozo simply couldn’t be bothered to even stay informed while his AMBASSADOR was being attacked and killed. The guy’s a complete disgrace.

Nothing the socialists ever do makes any sense. That’s why I’ve said so often that you have to completely ignore the lessons of history and basic human nature to believe in that stuff. It just will NEVER work.

The part that’s truly aggravating to me is when the alleged “conservatives” sign on to that idiocy, like Rubio and Cantor supporting amnesty. I’ve been writing for YEARS that I’m a single-issue voter when it comes to THAT uissue (as well as guns), because amnesty is a country-killer for us, plain and simple.

I agree Brian. It does seem like the GOP has become so absorbed in the game that they’ve forgotten why they’re playing. But having said that, the fight between the Tea Party and the GOP feels a little like the “War of the Roses” to me. Everyone loses in the end (except for the Left, of course).